Vampyr The Video Game: Gameplay And Release Date Details

Vampires are beings that are part of various folklores across the globe. The ancient people talked about spirits and demons that had monster features, but it’s the Balkans where the word used for these undead beings originated.

The movie industry portrayed vampires in numerous different ways. You might have seen Nosferatu, the horror classic where the vampire feed on people’s blood, but there were recent attempts to portray vampires as guys trying to do well (who said Twilight). Dontnod agreed with Focus Interactive to develop a game that will offer another look at our favorite undead being. Here is what we know about Vampyr, which is scheduled for release in November 2017 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Post WW1 London, Prepare Yourself for a Vampire!

Vampyr starts where the World War 1 ends, after causing death and destruction all over the European continent. Jonathan Reid was one of the people that couldn’t wait for the war to pass so that he could return to his medical practice in London. He didn’t participate in battles but was on the sidelines of the events. However, that is not the reason why Jonathan survived. The reason why he is still here is that he is a vampire.

If there is one thing that we are used to from Dontnod, it’s that they love making compelling narratives. We’ve seen that in the Life is Strange series and they are set to do it yet again in Vampyr. That means that the game might not offer the prettiest graphics or the biggest open-world, but it will surely deliver a story that will force you to make a lot of choices that matter and choices that will keep you thinking even after you finish playing the game.

Vampyr Shapes the World around Him with His Choices

Your parents probably told you that each action has its consequences. That premise becomes particularly true in Vampyr. While you might need to murder someone for your survival, you should be very careful choosing who to kill.

Each time you commit a crime, you will notice the city of London changing. If you manage to kill enough people, you might even see the capital of England turning into a ruin where dead bodies are all around you, and you’ve unleashed the creatures of the night onto little people remaining alive. Each district of London has its risk of doom with different indicators. Whenever one of them goes over the critical level, there is no point of returning from the changes that will happen.

Are You Ready for a Vampyr RPG?

Vampyr is nothing but a role playing game, which is a kind of interesting idea with some quirks. Considering the genre, you will be able to develop Jonathan Reid, the main protagonist you will control, by his actions. As expected, you will develop the character based on killing innocents.

That is the moment where you need to think what kind of vampire you want to become. If you want London to become Hell on Earth, you can always go on a killing spree, which will bring you experience points required to upgrade your character.

However, if you want the London to remain the beautiful city it is now (or it was in 1918 when the game is set), you will have the hard task of killing no innocents in Vampyr. That won’t bring you experience points, but you will still be able to finish the game, although it will be much harder. The choice is all up to you, dear Sir (or Madam, we are all about equality).

Vampyr Allows You to Kill, Just Not Everyone

There will be opportunities to spill some blood even if you don’t want that to be the blood of an innocent. You will have enemies in Vampyr, and there is no punishment for killing them. Those are vampire hunters, which all belong to the same organization sworn to exterminate the undead beings that lust for blood.

Vampire hunters do not choose, and they kill both good and bad, high and low vampires, which means that they deserve to be punished. Jonathan can use a broad range of weapons to eliminate the enemies, as well as the supernatural skills he has.

Arcade Combat Filled with Action

Both ranged combat and melee fights will be featured in Vampyr. When it comes to the fighting system, you can expect arcade combat filled with action all over the place. Quick movement can be your biggest asset in fights because vampire hunters are armed with weapons that can take a lot of your energy. The interesting twist is that you can regain some of the health by plunging your teeth into the enemy’s neck. However, that will leave you vulnerable to other enemies around you, which means you need to be careful.

Vampyr Dialogues and Conversations Have a Long-Term Effect

Exploring the world within the game is of the utmost importance in Vampyr. There are various NPCs that you can talk to, and you can even unlock new options for dialogue by discovering and investigating new items. As for the dialogues themselves, their concept might remind you of Mass Effect.

However, Vampyr is a bit trickier because your choices are not previously highlighted as positive or negative. That contributes to the information coming from Dontnod that there will not be right or wrong in the game. On the other hand, everything you say (may be used against you in a court of law…oh, no, that’s a different genre) can have a broad impact on the game world. Regardless of how insignificant you consider a conversation is at the moment, it can have a long-term effect on the participants and the surroundings.

It All Comes Down to Choices

As mentioned, the French developer studio likes story-driven games and always emphasizes the narrative. You can expect a complicated story in Vampyr entirely revolving around your choices. Let’s illustrate this with an example we saw during the E3 demo of the release.

In the demo, Jonathan Reid decided to kill a civilian. However, it was pretty much a villain because he was always blackmailing his neighbor for money. When the mobster died at the hands of Jonathan, the friend, who was a merchant, suddenly had a lot more cash and he became quite wealthy after some time. Although that seems almost like a fairytale, keep in mind that the risk of doom of that area increased with the death of the villain. After all, he is a civilian.

The Vampyr’s Dilemma

The world will be changing right in front of your eyes in Vampyr, and it will be based on your decisions. You need to keep in mind that you are a doctor (oh, the irony, a vampire who is a doctor). As a medical practitioner, your goal should be to help people, and not kill them. But, vampire hunters are onto you, and you need to become stronger if you want to get rid of them. The problem is that you can get your strength (primarily) by killing innocents. Troublesome, isn’t it?

Final Words

I have to be honest with you; I can’t wait for Vampyr to come out in November 2017. No doubt that Dontnod can do an incredible job with Vampyr, too after the Life is Strange hit.

Everything that I’ve seen or read so far on the game promises that it will be a fantastic release. If you became a fan of Vampyr while reading the article, you should know that you can pre-order it immediately and get a discount on Steam.

Besides programming and cars, I love video games and I have a huge passion for tech. That's why I'm up to date with every new thing that comes out. In my spare time I write because I enjoy sharing my ideas and thoughts with people.

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